Overwatch PTR Update Nerfs Tracer, Reworks Hanzo

Blizzard Entertainment – or the development team for its hero shooter Overwatch – have made some pretty bold moves with regards to hero balancing. Along with Bastion’s initial Ironclad buff, Mercy’s Valkyrie reign and the recent buff to Sombra’s hack, the developer outlined plans to rework Hanzo. The rework is now live on the Public Test Realm server so if you’re on PC, download the PTR build and try it.

Essentially, the changes include a speed increase to projectiles, decreased cooldown for Sonic Arrow (but shorter duration and smaller radius) and two new abilities. These are Lunge, where Hanzo can jump in the air horizontally and Storm Arrows. The latter are six arrows fired in succession and though they deal reduced damage, they are fully charged arrows.

Other interesting changes include Tracer’s Pulse Bomb damage being nerfed, making this the first real change to the hero since Overwatch launched in May 2016. In a way, if this change went live, it would be the end of an era. For more information on hero changes, check the patch notes below (full patch notes here).

HERO UPDATES

Genji

Deflect

Hitbox size has been reduced

Developer Comments: The hitbox on Genji’s Deflect was big enough that it would sometimes reflect projectiles that were pretty far away from him. We’ve tightened up the hitbox, which should solve this problem while still fully protecting him from projectiles that would hit him from the front.

Hanzo

Storm Bow

Projectile speed increased from 85 to 100

Sonic Arrow

Cooldown decreased from 20 seconds to 12 seconds

Duration decreased from 10 seconds to 6 seconds

Radius decreased from 10 meters to 7 meters

New Abilities

Lunge

Press jump while in the air to leap horizontally

Storm Arrows

Replaces his existing Scatter Arrow ability

Hanzo can now rapidly fire up to 6 arrows that deal reduced damage but are always fired at full power

Developer Comments: The goal of these Hanzo changes is to allow him to have new options and maintain his high damage output, while removing the frustration of fighting against the old Scatter Arrow. Hanzo is now much more mobile with his new Lunge ability, and with the combination of the bow projectile speed increase and the new Storm Arrows ability he can now deal his high damage more consistently than ever before.

Junkrat

Frag Launcher

Projectile size decreased from 0.3 to 0.2

RIP-Tire

Tire movement speed decreased from 13 to 12

Developer Comments: These changes are aimed at lowering some of the most frustrating parts about playing against Junkrat. Decreasing the Frag Launcher’s projectile size means he will have to aim a bit more carefully to land powerful direct hits and slowing the RIP-Tire’s movement speed gives his opponents slightly more time to destroy it before it detonates.

Lúcio

Wall Ride

Wall riding is less likely to be interrupted along a single surface

Can now go around corners (both outside corners, and inside corners) without having to leave the wall

Can now land back on the same wall after leaping away, provided his leap takes him far enough away from the original jumping off point.

Soundwave

No longer consumes ammo

Developer Comments: Wall Ride has been significantly overhauled to allow it to function more smoothly across more areas of every map. Lúcio players should instantly notice a huge improvement in where and how Wall Ride can be used. In addition, Sonic Amplifier’s Soundwave ability was unnecessarily controlled by both a cooldown and an ammo cost, so we’re removing the ammo cost.

Tracer

Pulse Bomb

Max damage decreased from 400 to 300

Developer Comments: Pulse Bomb was too good at killing tanks, who can be easy to stick due to their size. This damage reduction makes it less powerful as a tank-destroyer, while keeping it lethal against most other heroes.

GAME BROWSER AND CUSTOM GAMES

General

Mercy’s Regeneration (passive ability) can now be turned off in Custom Game settings

Settings for Hanzo’s Lunge and Storm Arrow abilities can now be found in the Custom Game settings

BUG FIXES

General

Fixed a bug that caused the option “Invite to a Custom Game” to appear while in the Tutorial and Practice Range

A.I.

Fixed a bug that prevented training bots from returning to their original position and behavior after being hit with an ability (e.g. Lúcio’s Soundwave)

Fixed a bug that caused bots to use the wrong route when tracking down the player if their target jumped off a ledge

Fixed a bug that caused bots to get stuck on the siege tank in the StarCraft area of Blizzard World

Game Browser and Custom Game

Fixed a bug that caused custom game invites to persist on the invitee’s screen

Heroes

Fixed a bug that prevented Bastion’s Zwing Zwing Zwing voice line from playing if the Null Sector skin was equipped

Fixed a bug that prevented Genji’s melee attack from making sound effects

Fixed a bug that prevented Genji’s golden weapon variant from displaying its golden sheen when some skins were equipped

Fixed a bug that allowed Junkrat’s RIP-TIRE to be immune to the freeze effects of Mei’s Endothermic Blaster

Fixed a bug that allowed Lúcio to move around while caught in Junkrat’s Steel Trap